SM Caen failed in their survival bid as a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Girondins de Bordeaux combined with results elsewhere to send the Normandy side down to Ligue 2.
SM Caen 0 - 1 Girondins de Bordeaux 
THE MATCH
Caen were hoping to pull off an escape from the clutches of relegation on the final day for the third year running. A win against Bordeaux at the Stade Michel-d'Ornano would ensure that they at least went into the relegation play-off against RC Lens and might have seen them climb out of the bottom three altogether if there was a slip-up from Amiens SC or AS Monaco, the two sides directly above them.
However, not only did Caen fail to get the result they needed, but news came through that Dijon FCO had come from behind to beat Toulouse 2-1 in Burgundy to leapfrog the side co-managed by Fabien Mercadal and Rolland Courbis.
Caen had taken 10 points from a possible 12 to breathe life into their survival bid before a 4-0 defeat at Olympique Lyonnais last weekend. They would still have been confident of doing their bit here against a Bordeaux side in terrible form but could not recover after falling behind in the 19th minute when Sergi Palencia set up Younousse Sankharé to score for the visitors.
The hosts could not find a way past Gaëtan Poussin in the Bordeaux goal after that as their stay in the top flight comes to an end after five years.
THE PLAYER: Younousse Sankharé
It has been a difficult season for Sankharé but the midfielder's goal was well timed as it sealed a win that salvaged some pride for his current club. It also helped rescue one of his former sides - he played for Dijon earlier in his career, and the Burgundy club ended up pipping Caen to the relegation play-off place.
THE STAT: 6
There may have been nothing tangible at stake for Bordeaux here, but their win ended a run of six straight defeats in a difficult end to the campaign for Paulo Sousa's team.
